In a traditional front-mounted chip package assembly, the inactive face of a chip can be attached to a chip carrier substrate of a lead frame, while electrodes on the active face of the chip are can connect to leads that lie around the carrier substrate via metal wires. In this way, the electrodes on the active face of the chip can be coupled to external circuitry. However, this approach may result in a relatively large package resistance because relatively slender metal wires are used to lead out the electrodes on the chip surface. Also, the reliability of the chip package may be adversely affected due to pseudo soldering between the metal wires and chip pads. Further, as electronic devices become thinner and thinner, traditional lead bonding approaches may not satisfy thickness requirements.